I actually wrote this article two years ago, but I do
believe that it has very important relevance, so I thought I'd
share...

Joseph foretold the baker and cupbearer's dreams, only to
wait two more years in the dungeon before being "called up"

The patience of the saints...

Out of
the Eater, Something Sweet

~

So he said to them, "Out of the
eater came something to
eat,
And out of the strong came something sweet." But
they could not tell the
riddle in three days.

Judges
14:14

Is Christmas a
Pagan Holiday?

Christmas has many pagan
roots.The
most prominent of these is
the worship of the sun (god).This has
much to do with Winter Solstice.Winter,
which is obviously cold, seems like it would stand in
stark contrast to the
sun, which personifies warmth – would it not?Apparently, at first glance.However, if you understand the concept of the
new moon, then you will
understand why the sun has much to do with Christmas
and Winter solstice.Let me explain.

Winter Solstice

The length of days heading into
winter gradually shortens.This
continues until we reach the day with the least
“light” in it, which is Winter
Solstice (December 21st this year).Once this event occurs, the sun seemingly
“stands still” for three (3)
days.Solstice
means “to come to a stop”
or to “stand still.”This is a type of
death.

New Moon
Similarities

The most prominent new moon is
the Feast of Rosh Hashanah, or the Feast of Trumpets.This is
considered the “New Year.”This occurs when the first
“sliver” of moon
is seen from Jerusalem.Utilizing a
similar concept, we now apply this to the sun instead
of the moon.The
sun on December 21st seemingly
is going “dark.”For three (3) days it
is like death.On December 25th
the length of days begins to grow again, and hope is
restored – a resurrection
of sorts.This
is when it is celebrated
that Jesus came to “Tabernacle” with us – Immanuel.Seven days
later is New Year’s Eve.

Whose Holiday is it
anyway?

On one hand this looks like a
great allusion to Jesus.Three days
death, and then a resurrection!On the
other hand, this looks like a holiday knee deep in
pagan rituals.What a contrast!!!

Let’s take a step back and just
look at what we know of Christmas in our own time.Is there a
battle over Christmas?Yes!Secular Humanists and others most certainly are
trying to take the
“Christ” out of Christmas.Mangers are
being destroyed and banned.Carols,
decorations and any direct reference whatsoever is
under attack.“Happy
Holidays” and “Winter Break” are the
politically correct vocabulary.

There most certainly is a fierce
war going on, and often Jesus is left standing by
himself.Anyone
with anti-Christian sentiments is
clearly in favor of getting rid of the “Christ” in
Christmas.Yet,
are Christians standing firm and
battling back?For the most part –
No!Most
Christians and theologians when
asked about “Christ and Christmas” will give a very
notable disclaimer that
“Jesus was of course not born on December 25th.”While I
understand the logic, this admission
also has us losing the battle.If Jesus
truly was not born on this day then we have no “true”
ground to stand on.Jesus being born on Christmas has become a
“Santa Claus” type myth that is protected from
children, but mocked in adult
circles.What
story has more credibility
- toys being made at the North Pole, or a historical
baby Jesus on
Christmas?Forgive
my sarcasm, but my
point is we can no longer defend something the
Christian community clearly
doesn’t believe in.If this was the day
Jesus was conceived on, then given the battle against
abortion, it may be even
more important to stand our ground.

It is outside of the scope of
this writing to research and report on any direct
evidence that Jesus may have
in fact been born on December 25th.But, I do hope it’s obvious that something is
very wrong with the
situation as it stands now.I think many
times in theological study, we become closed minded
too quickly.This
is led many times by experts who
basically formulate the crowd mentality, that anything
outside of what has
become the “prophetic norm” is a fool for breaking
ranks.I
say Hogwash!Let
me ask this question of the reader – Who
made the sun?Who
makes the
seasons?The
rising and the setting of
the sun?The
One and only true God and
His Son Jesus!So who is the originator
of the model of the three (3) day death and
resurrection?Who
owns it?God or Satan?God.So
does the model of the 3 day resurrection
belong to pagans?Vehemently, no!

There is truly a spiritual battle
being waged over this day.

Apollo 8

Apollo is the pagan god of the
sun.This
would be the antithesis, of
Christ, or the anti-christ.If Christ is
the Son of God, then He is the creator of the sun, the
center of our Solar
System (John 1:1-3).

On December 21st 1968,
which was Winter Solstice, Apollo 8 was launched.On
December 24th, Christmas Eve,
on the largest worldwide broadcast to date, the
Astronauts read the first ten
(10) verses of Genesis declaring the glory of God (the
One true God of the
Bible, by reading His Word).The very
next day an atheist sued NASA, and God was lost from
the space programs.The battle wages on…Son God (Jesus) vs. sun
god, Apollo (Satan).

Christmas is the pinnacle of the
contrast that is the Church.The Church
was born on Pentecost (or Shavuot).On
this feast, leaven is in the bread that is waved.Leaven
clearly stands for sin.Christmas is a very wonderful
time to spread
the Gospel.Yet,
at the same time it is
filled with pagan rituals and symbols.Is this not the bread containing the leaven?Surely,
God knew his ultimate purpose.It was for
His Son Jesus to redeem mankind
from our sins.It is the great sin,
which provides the great need of a Savior.When we say “Christmas” is not eligible for
Rapture consideration
because it is a pagan holiday, are we not throwing the
baby out with the
baptism water?Remember the Pharisees
saying Jesus couldn’t be the Messiah because he was
healing on the Sabbath or
he was uneducated and hung out with sinners?How is tossing out Christmas different?What about child-like faith.Have
you ever talked to an innocent child about Christmas?Do they
believe in Christmas miracles?The books
and shows do.Listen,
we live in a cesspool world
overflowing with sin, and we NEED that baby in manger
– Immanuel!!!

Key of David

What is the “Key of David?”I could
write a whole article on this topic
alone, but it is summarized very quickly in Psalm 51.King
David, after all the magnificent things
he had done in faith, had fallen.He
committed the sin of adultery, murder and covering it
all up by means of his
God-bestowed position.Horrible.So, how can Jesus sit on the seat that David
established?

As I have written before thirteen
(13) stands for both rebellion and God’s restoring
love.Let’s
just go straight to Psalm 51 verse 13:

Then will I teach
transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be
converted unto thee.

Before we complicate things,
let’s go back to the original argument between God and
Satan.Satan
said something resembling this to
God:“You
don’t have a right to rule me,
and you are not love.”Let’s be clear,
God does not need our righteousness.Self righteousness is “Satan.”It
is one and the same.God seeks to redeem
us.Consider
the parable of the Prodigal
son, and the other brother.Does the
parable point out any fallible sins of the other
brother?Who
is it that leaves the house to live in
sin?Yet,
who is it that receives
redemption?Let
me propose to you there
is only conceit, and contrite.

This is the “Key of David”:

Psalm 51:17 The
sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and
contrite
heart, O God, you will not despise.

God needs nothing from us.However
his love will accept and provide for
us.Jehovah
Jireh.Amen!

Sampson

Sampson means “of the Sun.”There are
many parallels of Sampson to
Jesus.His
birth was foretold to his
mother through an angel while his people were
oppressed, and in great need of a
Savior.His
willing death, destroyed
many pagans who were mocking him.This
also could be the subject of an article in itself, but
I want to focus on
Sampson and his riddle.Keep in mind
this riddle was given during a marriage feast.

Here is the riddle again:

Judges 14:14 So
he said to them, "Out of the eater came
something to
eat, And out of the strong came something sweet."
But they could not tell
the riddle in three days.

In the passage the persons at the
wedding, who were told by Sampson’s wife, identified
the “eater” as a lion and
the “sweet” as honey.This is a
start.However,
this passage bears huge
prophetic significance.Remember Sampson
has taken a gentile bride. This is a
picture of the Church. Sampson also “hid” the lion and
the honey from his
natural Israelite parents.

Let’s break it down.

Who is the lion?Although Jesus is the Lion of
Judah, Sampson,
who killed the lion, is a picture of Jesus.So, who is the lion?Let
scripture interpret scripture:

1 Peter
5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the
devil, as a roaring
lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

The lion is Satan.Satan is the
“eater.”How
fitting.

How about the “sweet” –
honey???Again, let’s look at God’s word:

Proverbs
24:13-14 Eat honey, my son,
for it is good; honey from the comb is sweet to your
taste. Know also that
wisdom is sweet to your soul; if you find it, there is a
future hope for you,
and your hope will not be cut off.

Proverbs is always a good
place to start when seeking out God’s
wisdom!The
first proverb tells us that
honey is likened to wisdom, and also gives us a great
promise.

Proverbs
27:7 He who is full loathes
honey, but to the hungry even what is bitter
tastes sweet.

This second proverb gives us
even more depth of understanding.This is a
varied description of the
difference between the “other brother” and the “prodigal
son.”If
one is self righteous, he is not in need
of a savior.No
need.No
hunger.Whereas, the desperate simply desire food.The prodigal
hungered over the pigs
food.A far
cry from honey.How
much sweeter is honey for the desperate?Yet the full,
according to this proverb are
in no need at all.

Proverbs
16:24-25Pleasant words are as an
honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the
bones. There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but
the end thereof are
the ways of death.

To us it seems that
righteousness coming from deeds and an absence of sin
is the best way.But,
to God brokenness
is best.This
is the honey…

Song of
Solomon
4:11 Your lips drop
sweetness as the honeycomb, my bride; milk and honey are
under your tongue. The
fragrance of your garments is like that of Lebanon.

Once Solomon has described
for us so good in Proverbs what honey is, we
find it on the bride’s lips in a book well known for
Rapture wedding
references.

Psalm
19:9-11 The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever.
The ordinances of the
LORD are sure and altogether righteous.They are more precious than gold, than much pure
gold; they are sweeter
than honey, than honey from the comb. By them is your
servant warned; in
keeping them there is great reward.

It is the “fear of the Lord”
that is the beginning of wisdom.It is an acknowledgement of sin and
brokenness.Honey
is made from the
nectar of flowers.It is flowers that
neither “spin nor toil,” as Jesus aptly pointed out.In other
words, no “works” will do.Conceit or Contrite?Its written throughout the Gospels.So are we
going back to the Seven Feasts laid
out in the Torah for the Church to be raptured?Maybe (I’m an avid watcher of all of them myself).But then
again, maybe not.Maybe
it will be Christmas or New Years
Eve.

Consider the parallels with
Sampson and Christmas.Sampson’s name means “of the Sun,” and he
clearly is a prototype for Christ.His
riddle is not answered for three days.This is a tie in with Jesus’ death and
resurrection, which is portrayed
by Winter Solstice.Is this a Gospel
message to the Gentile Nations?

"Out of the
eater came something to eat, and out of the strong
came something sweet."

Can something “sweet” come out
of the “Pagan” Christmas carcass?For
me, I believe the prophetic answer to this riddle is
“Christmas.”

Isaiah
1:18 “Come let us
reason together says the Lord, though your sins are
like scarlet, I will make
you white as snow, though they are as crimson, I
will make you as wool.”